


Vyra's week with Dennor

by VyraFinn



Series: Vyra's Tumblr events [2]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: M/M, prompts: magic & medieval & anko family & fantasy AU & snow day & mermaid & school AU, short fics for dennor week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-06-28 02:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19802431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VyraFinn/pseuds/VyraFinn
Summary: Seven days, seven prompts, seven short fics... Only one pairing.





	1. Magic

**Author's Note:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.

“Nor!” Norway looked up when he heard the Dane’s voice, wondering why the man had felt the need to yell when they were the only persons in otherwise quiet house. 

“Yes?” he asked and glanced up the Dane who was smiling and holding a big box in his arms.

“I have learnt magic!” he declared. Norway blinked few times, looking slightly confused.

“Have you now?” he asked and wondered if they had really missed the Dane’s skills during all these centuries. He understood much better when Denmark showed up the box he was carrying. “Easy magic tricks for everybody”, it said on the top, written in glittering letters and accompanied by shooting stars and fireworks. Norway nodded slowly.

“Yeah!” Denmark said, sounding happy and excited, “I found this from a book store sale and learnt everything.”

“So you are a discount wizard now?”

“I am going to give you a show”, the Dane said, completely ignoring Norway’s comment and starting to unbox his magic trick equipment. Norway wasn’t doing anything especially important right then and he didn’t had anything planned that day, so he nodded and curiously watched the Dane to prepare his show. If the box’s glitter lettered words had not been enough, the plastic magic wand and poorly made piece of cloth that should have been a cape but only reached the Dane half back, showed that the tricks were nothing more than tricks.

“You shouldn’t watch when I prepare”, Denmark said, briefly glancing up from his task.

“Oh, okay”, Norway muttered and closed his eyes, “better?”

“Much. Thanks!”

“You know, you could have just prepared before you stepped into room”, Norway noted, but kindly held his eyes closed.

“Yeah, but I just really wanted to show this to you”, Denmark replied happily, “I will prepare earlier next time. Okay, I am ready!” Norway opened his eyes, looking calm when he glanced at the excited Dane. He barely managed to hold his expression when looking at the man with plastic magic wand, child sized cape and bit too small top hat that wasn’t even heavy enough to flatten his hair. It looked hilarious, but Norway decided to take the moment seriously. There was that extra glint in Dane’s smile and eyes that he got when I was excited about something, and Norway loved that one.

“I am ready”, Norway nodded.

“So…”

“What?”

“Usually people clap when the magician arrives”, Denmark said, taking a pose that felt slightly awkward in that situation.

“Oh, I apologize”, Norway said and clapped slowly, his hands meeting just few times but it seemed to please the Dane anyway. The things he did just to see that smile, Norway quietly thought.

“My first magic trick is…”, Denmark said dramatically and took a deck of cards from the table where he had placed all the things for his magic show, “card trick!”

“How original”, Norway commented and clapped few times because the Dane was expecting that. 

“Okay, so if you can just pick up one card”, Denmark said and handed the deck over to the Norwegian, “and do not show me it! Just memorize what you picked and then slide it back in.”

“Yes”, Norway muttered and took the first card on the deck. He gave it a glance and then quietly placed it back on top of the deck.

“And now I will mix the cards, say the magic words and magically pick up your card”, Denmark said and proceeded to do just so. Norway looked at the card the man showed up. Ten of hearts. His had been five of spades. 

“Is this your card?” Denmark asked with that sweet smile. 

“Yes”, Norway nodded without hesitation, “good job.” The Dane beamed, his happiness making the whole room brighter. 

“Okay, then it is your turn!”

“My turn for what?” 

“To do the trick!” Denmark said, loudly and happily.

“Is that normal during magic shows?” Norway frowned, “I believed that the audience is supposed to watch.”

“I guess, but the book said that good magician aims to surprise with unusual things during their shows”, Denmark explained, “and I thought that would make is unusual.”

“Very well”, Norway said after brief thinking and took the offered cards, “pick one.”

“Do you want to borrow my cape, hat and magic wand?”

“No, I am fine”, Norway said, “take a card.” Denmark did so and even closed his eyes when he put it back between other cards. Norway didn’t know why he did so, but he kindly waited few seconds before telling the Dane he could look again. Norway nodded, did not say any magic words, and picked up the first card of the pack he hadn’t mixed up.

“Is this your card?” he asked, fully knowing it couldn’t be that unless the Dane had a fake deck.

“No”, Denmark shook his head and looked slightly disappointed. Norway didn’t like that expression so much.

“What was your card?” he asked.

“Ace of hearts.”

“Alright, is this now your card?” Norway asked, still holding up the same card.

“But you didn’t even…”, Denmark said and stopped when he looked at the card, “woah! It is the same now! How you did that?”

“I have been doing magic for centuries and you know that”, Norway replied and put the card deck back on the table, satisfied that the Dane was smiling again, “do you have more tricks?”

“Of course I have”, Denmark nodded and was clearly impressed, “okay so my next trick… I am going to magic a scarf from my hand!”

“You what?”

“Just look”, the Dane said and showed up his empty hands, “see, my hands are empty.”

“Yes.”

“And now I will say the magic word…”, Denmark muttered the words that Norway had already realized was just simple gibberish, “and the scarf…”

“I do not see any scarfs.”

“Wait a minute”, Denmark said quickly with a frown and turned around so Norway couldn’t see what he was doing. The Norwegian patiently waited until the Dane had turned back took again one of those silly poses he had probably learnt from the guide box for all young magicians. 

“Okay so, now the magic word!” Denmark muttered his assigned gibberish and moved the plastic magic wand over his closed fist, “and behold!” He started to pull a colourful silk scarf from his fist, waving it once it was fully out. He smiled, so Norway clapped. 

“Wonderful”, he said, “I have never before seen anybody pulling a scarf from their fist.”

“Really? The book said this is a basic trick all the magicians have in their show”, Denmark said, sounding not only surprised but also satisfied about being able to show something new, “okay, your turn!”

“I am not sure…”

“Do you want to try with my magic wand?” Denmark offered and Norway stared at the plastic thing before just shaking his head slowly.

“Fine”, he said and raised his hands. Materializing something wasn’t too hard, but he had to know where the object he wanted to materialize was, because just creating something from the empty air was much more difficult. Luckily he knew exactly where at least one colourful scarf was, so he pinched the air and seemingly just pulled the scarf out from nowhere. Denmark looked fascinated when he saw that.

“Woah”, he stared at the scarf Norway was holding with two fingers, “you are really good with this!”

“Thank you.”

“So my next trick”, Denmark continued and focused back on his magic. Norway looked him moving around to search something, and wondered how the poorly looking top hat even stayed on the man’s head. It looked like it was floating because all the hair keeping it up and by all senses the hat should have already fell down couple of times but there it was. Defying the gravity. Norway started to think maybe that was the truest magic trick of the whole show. 

“So my next trick…” Denmark repeated and looked confused, “uh, have you seen my scarf?”

“This is your scarf”, Norway replied and showed the one he was still holding, “I borrowed it.”

“Oh, thanks, great”, the Dane said and took a pose again now that he was ready, “I am going to tear this one hundred bill into pieces.”

“Is that really smart?”

“...and then I will magic it whole again!” Denmark said and ignored the comment from audience. Norway only nodded and didn’t stop the Dane tearing the money into small pieces that were so small it would have been hard to even realize it had once been money. Then he laid the scarf over the small pile, said his magic word and waved the wand. When he dramatically pulled the scarf up, the pile of piece of paper was still there and didn’t look at all like a whole 100 bill. Norway checked the Dane’s expression and did not clap, because he wasn’t smiling.

“Uh, it didn’t work”, Denmark admitted and looked disappointed, “well, I actually never got this one to work right even when I practiced so it is okay.” Norway didn’t feel like it was okay. Not when the smile the Dane offered for him was the sad one. That wasn’t the smile he liked.

“Try again”, he said, “maybe it will work.”

“Well, okay, I guess we can try”, Denmark muttered and carefully placed the scarf back over the paper pieces. Norway didn’t need much time so the Dane was still in middle of his ridiculously long magic word, that actually was more like a magic phrase now that Norway thought about it, when the bill became a whole bill again. 

“Oh woah”, Denmark said staring at the bill with a surprise once he had finished his spell and took the scarf off, “it worked!” Norway nodded and this time he clapped. Denmark was pleased and he didn’t ask Norway to try that trick, so he might have known why exactly the magic decided to work right then. Instead he moved to the next grand finale with the same enthusiasm he had pulled the whole show. 

“Okay so this is the last trick of the evening!”

“It is midday.”

“Last trick! And I will need help from the audience”, Denmark said, smiling at Norway who very well knew he was the only one in audience and therefore probably the one required to help. So he got up and stepped forward.

“What should I do?” he asked from the smiling Dane.

“Just stand here”, the man replied, “and close your eyes.”

“Okay”, Norway muttered and closed his eyes. Denmark was standing so close he could feel the man’s warmth, and gentle fingers caressed his shoulder and neck.

“Just relax”, the Dane whispered.

“What is this trick about?” Norway asked, still holding his eyes closed and enjoying the brief, gently touches he got from the Dane.

“It is a love spell.”

“Hm, fascinating. Isn’t it immoral to use such spells on innocent people?”

“It is not a bad spell”, Denmark said softly and the fingers moved to caress Norway’s cheek, making him feel good and comfortable, “I will now say the magic word and I want you to focus very hard. If the spell works, you will feel a kiss on your lips.”

“How exciting”, Norway said, his lips turning into small smirk. He heard the Dane laugh softly before he started to chant the words he claimed to be magic but Norway still believed were just gibberish the Dane had come up with in five minutes. Norway kept his eyes closed, waiting for the kiss to come. The time went slower and he almost forgot to breathe when the Dane’s lips lightly touched his. Too little, Norway thought and leaned forward, but Denmark had already stepped back. 

“Did the spell work?” he asked with a smile.

“It did”, Norway nodded, opening his eyes and looking at the man he loved, “could I have my turn now?”

“Of course”, Denmark said, grinning when he closed his eyes, “do you want to…”

“No, I have all I need”, Norway replied and sneaked closer, “relax and focus. We need this spell to work.” He wanted to jump on the Dane right then, demanding to have a real kiss because the light touch on the lips hardly counted, but he also wanted to play along. So he waited the moment until he saw the Dane relaxin. He didn’t use any of his magic, because there wasn’t need for that. He only walked around the man, letting his hand reach for him and touch gently, and he whispered softly things that were not gibberish at all and made the Dane blush nicely. Then he moved closer and gave the kiss they deserved to have. It lasted longer and left they both with heavy breaths.

“Oh”, the Dane sighed once he was able to speak again, his cheeks red and arms holding tightly the Norwegian, “your magic is so good.”

“Isn’t it?” Norway asked and smirked, “yours isn’t that bad either, although I for sure hope the last part is not included in every show you have.”

“Mmh, only in private ones like this”, Denmark said happily and kissed the Norwegian’s cheek, enjoying the moment. Norway agreed with a hum and they would have continued the spell a while longer if he hadn’t just then sneaked his hand in the Dane’s hair and found the pins that hold the magical hat in place.

“Ah, so that is how you got it to stay there”, he muttered.

“Huh?”

“Nothing”, Norway said and smiled, “could you show me that love spell of yours again? I want to make sure I know exactly how to do it.”

“Of course!”


	2. Medieval

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.

“Oh damn it”, the Dane muttered angrily and threw the pieces of armor off him, “damn damn damn.” Norway looked up from his task of sewing up some old clothes to better fit Iceland’s growing body, and gave the Dane a long look.

“What is it now?” he asked, “did the tournament go wrong?”

“No, well…”Denmark let frustrated sigh, “kind of, yes. It is not going well.” He stumbled with the sword belt, almost making himself fall down only because he was too impatient to focus on opening all the hundreds things holding his heavy, ceremonial armor in place. Norway didn’t envy him, it wasn’t fun to wear the whole thing, so he got up and started to help. His calm and focused working making the Dane calm down too.

“I understood that you are second on the leader board”, Norway mentioned and Denmark nodded.

“Yeah, but…”, he said and stretched his body every time they got new piece of heavy metal off, “the guy who is leading…”

“What about him?

“He is just very good”, Denmark muttered sadly.

“I do not wonder that if he is leading the scores”, Norway said and Denmark nodded sadly, “but you are second one. Second best knight of the whole kingdom, that is remarkable and usually you are feeling good even if somebody else is winning. Why to be sad now?”

“I don’t know”, the Dane sighed, “I guess it is just… You know, he isn’t even riding under coat of arms.”

“Anonymous knights are normal in tournaments”, Norway noted and carefully placed down the heavy chest plate with King’s mark. The duty to help a knight out of armor would have usually fell to pages, but Denmark didn’t have any. Instead he trusted on Norway’s good will to help. Sometimes he had to do it himself.

“Yeah, but they don’t usually get this far”, Denmark said, “it is already end of the season and next one is the last tournament. Anonymous always drop out before that.”

“So what? He just happens to be better.”

“But nobody knows who he is!”

“That sounds like exactly the idea of riding in tournament without name or sigil”, Norway said and raised his brow, “you smell horrible. Remember to take a bath before you even try to get near the bed. I am not sleeping next to somebody smelling like that.”

“Yeah, I will”, Denmark muttered and quickly kissed the Norwegian’s forehead, “it is just, you know, usually by now there are at least rumours or the knight just reveals himself. Nobody ever stays hidden this long.”

“So you have been gossiping around?”

“Kinda…”, Denmark muttered, “but in vain. He is a mystery for everybody. Nobody knows where he comes from, who he is tournameting for or what is his name. He isn’t eve carrying any lady’s handkerchief!” 

“Aha”, Norway muttered, “ladies have to be in misery for that.” His voice got darker for a while, but only so little that Denmark didn’t even notice. 

“Well, it is apparently status question for them”, Denmark said and carefully untied the handkerchief he had in his armor, “the one having hers carried to the win gets more fame. That’s why I am carrying princess Christine’s blessing. They told me that is a good idea.”

“Doesn’t seems to keep other ladies away from you”, Norway commented dryly. He had see them swarming around the Dane whenever there was a chance. Trying to get attention and a chance to talk with the knight. The ladies were not even only ones, pretty much everybody with chance wanted Denmark’s attention and tournaments just made it worse. He couldn’t even go out without at least five courtiers around him. The Dane, of course, didn’t even seem to mind. Norway in other hand, he did mind. 

“Are you jealous?”

“No”, yes, he was, “so this mysterious knight winning the tournament upsets you because he is winning, mysterious and doesn’t want attention?”

“Uh, yeah”, Denmark muttered and grimaced when one of the plates against of his tight dig into tender flesh, “he never stays after the tournament.”

“I thought that would please you”, Norway noted and observed the already healing bruises the Dane had got during the day, “or do you want to chat with him? The only person that doesn’t swarm around you and try to do everything just have a look from you?”

“You really make it sound like you are jealous”, Denmark muttered and grimaced again when another moved metal plate revealed more bruises, “uh, can you kiss me better?”

“After being accused to be jealous?” Norway said and looked up from the ground where he was kneeling to open the rems that hold shin protections on place. 

“Bad timing?”

“Just a bit”, Norway said, but was mercifully enough to forgive and gently kiss the healing bruises, “maybe I will just make you forget about other people.”

“What people?”

“Well, that was fast”, Norway said and looked up at the smiling Dane, “a simple kiss on tight and you are ready to throw everything else out of your mind.”

“Just for you!” Denmark said happily, “well, I will know the mystery knights true face tomorrow anyway.” He completely missed how the Norwegian looked shocked and confused just for a few seconds before he got the control of his expressions back.

“What you mean?”

“That I will only forget things when you kiss me”, Denmark said with a frown, “I thought that was obvious?”

“No, not that”, Norway said quickly, “I mean, what about knowing the knight’s true face tomorrow? What makes you think he will reveal all?”

“Well, it is the last tournament and only we two are left so either is going to win”, Denmark said, “and even if he doesn’t want to show his face at that moment, my king told me to not let him go. He wants to know who is that man who had beaten every single of his knights and seems to not give respect to anything.”

“I see”, Norway muttered with troubled look on his face, but Denmark was too busy with thinking the coming tournament to actually notice that.

“It is going to be a sword fight”, he said with slightly dreaming look on his face like he was already imagining to beating the mysterious man that already beaten him many times, “no more horseback riding and archery. It is time for the real fight.”

“Of course”, Norway muttered, still looking like he was worried about something, but Denmark was more than eager to talk about the coming day and only occasional muttered words from the Norwegian kept him going so he didn’t even stop to wonder why Norway seemed to be so deeply in his thoughts all the evening.

****** 

Denmark loved to fight. That wasn’t a secret. He enjoyed to test his skills and strength in a friendly battle and the shocks of adrenal it gave to him. The tournaments gave him a great chance to test his power against all the knights brave enough to face him, so he joined in every time it was just possible. Of course he enjoyed sparring with Norway, and sometimes Sweden when they were not in full war against each other, but there was something simply amazing in having the people cheering and living with the whole fight. It was addicting even.

The Dane wasn’t always the best. Lot of fighting wasn’t about the skills but about the true luck and using the possibilities offered, so even with all his training and skills sometimes others were better. But he was still one of the best and never before had a mere human beaten him like the mysterious knight without coat of arms did. It made him curious.

It had come down to sword fight, the last part of tournament. There they would find out who was the best, strongest and most skillful knight in all the realm. It was familiar place for the Dane to be in, but his opponent was new. Their fight took time, swords hitting each other and against armors, but not making the wound that would have ended the fight. Because they were not on horseback, Denmark had decided on lighter armor that gave him more moving space but less protection. He had even opted against the helmet, a brave decision that was making ladies to gasp and other knights mutter quietly with each other. Of course they didn’t know that brain injury wasn’t the kind of problem that would bother Denmark for too long, they only saw extraordinary brave, or stupid, knight. 

His opponent had decided otherwise. He was wearing almost full armor, although a version that had altered to be better when fighting on ground, and he was wearing the same helmeth he had used all the time to protect his face and identity. Even with his movements heaved down by metal and the helmet limiting his sight, he still fought good and wasn’t making things easy to the Dane. the audience was excited and even the fight getting longer, nobody was hurrying them to finish. There was too much to enjoy by simply watching them.

Denmark kept throwing in his normal challenges and taunting words that often were part of the tournament and lead to verbal fight between knights beside of the physical one. But the mysterious knight didn’t speak and didn’t even react to things Denmark said. He only kept fighting, dodging and attacking in perfect balance. There wasn’t much Denmark could do, and the longer the fight took the more he started to think there was something weirdly familiar going on. He was just too busy to stop think about that.

It wasn’t until the mysterious knight had pinned him down to ground, when he realized the truth. The fight had been going on for long, they were both tired and using the all they had. The audience was going wild, expecting to finally see the end of the fight, but Denmark didn’t even notice that. He stared up to the man holding him down, and could barely see the ice blue eyes behind the metal.

“Nor?” he asked, shocked and unsure.

“Took you long enough”, the mysterious knight replied, saying the first words he had ever muttered during the whole tournament. Denmark distantly heard the call for the first blood, signing that the fight was over and he had lost, but he didn’t care about that. He didn’t even remember that his king had ordered him to hold on the mystery knight so that they could find out who had beaten up the whole realm’s best men. He only looked up the Norwegian, knowing that the man was smirking behind the iron, and stayed down. He didn’t got up before he was sure Norway was far away and when he did, he hurried to the tent they had built up and where Norway was supposed to wait for him because he didn’t enjoy watching the tournaments, or so he had said.

“Nor!” Denmark yelled and rushed in, panicking and searching for the Norwegian with his eyes.

“I am here. You don’t need to yell”, Norway replied calmly. He had already took the armor off, Denmark didn’t know how he did it so fast, and looked like he had maybe ran a marathon but not been fighting all afternoon.

“What… Was it you? All the time?” Denmark said between trying to make his breathing back to normal. Norway was washing his face, acting all calm and collected.

“Yes”, he said.

“We have to hide you!” Denmark said and reached to take the Norwegian’s arm, “quick! The king is furious!”

“Calm down”, Norway said and didn’t move, “do I look like I was on the arena today?” Denmark had to admit he did not look like he had had anything to do with the tournament. There were no sword or pieces of armor around. No visible wounds or bruised on his skin. He didn’t even smell like sweat and metal like people usually did after fights. It always took Denmark hours to get that fresh, but somehow Norway had managed it in merely few minutes. Magic, the Dane thought, it had to be magic. 

“Oh, right, okay”, he muttered, letting himself calm down.

“Nobody will ever suspect it was me”, Norway continued, “unless you told them, of course.”

“I would never!”

“Stop yelling”, Norway said and rolled his eyes, “if we just stay calm and act normal, they will never find anything. Which reminds me, you running straight to me and ignoring your king’s order are not really normal things to do.”

“I would always ignore his order if you needed me”, Denmark said, but he understood what the Norwegian meant. So they shared a quick kiss, and the Dane hurried to answer for his king and Norway stayed where he was. 

**** 

“So, you are the mysterious knight that has made the whole realm to gossip and yell for frustration of not knowing who you are?” Denmark asked late in the evening when the search for the said mysterious knight had ended and he had been allowed to take a rest. Norway nodded.

“It is me”, he admitted, “and wasn’t it you who just yesterday felt upset about the whole mysterious knight thing?”

“Well, that was before I realized it was you!” Denmark said happily. Norway had expected the Dane to be upset about the truth, but the reaction was completely opposite. He seemed to be happier to know it was Norway all the time beating him during the tournament. Even being lied to didn’t seem to bother him.

“Aha.”

“And now I know who won against me”, the Dane continued and frowned slightly, “there is just one question… Why?”

“For fun”, Norway replied bit too fast.

“You don’t even like tournaments or useless fights. You only fight for survival or training”, Denmark pointed out, “and if you wanted fun we could have just signed you up under the king’s sigil.” Norway stayed stubbornly quiet but Denmark knew there was something more going on, so they ended up into silent staring competition. Surprisingly, it was Norway who gave up first.

“Fine”, he muttered angrily, “I did it because of attention, you happy now?”

“Almost”, Denmark said and reached his hand over the table to touch the Norwegian’s, “what attention? From who? If you want my attention, I give it all to you till end of the days. Why to go in anonymous when you want attention?”

“Not attention like that”, Norway muttered, sounding slightly frustrated and embarrassed, “it was because they were giving so much attention to you. All those ladies and courtiers, wanting piece of you like you are just something they can have and…”

“You were jealous!” Denmark said, sounding way too happy, “you were jealous because you wanted me to be only yours!”

“No”, Norway said, “that is childish.”

“We are alone. You can admit it”, Denmark said, impatiently waiting and smiling that smile Norway loved so much. 

“Fine”, he said, “I signed up to the tournament because I though a mysterious, unknown knight would cause enough attention to get all those ladies and courtiers off you, and I also wanted to beat you up because all that winning during last season made you too proud and it was a high time somebody brings you back down. Sadly, I know only I could have suitable for that duty, so I did what I had to.”

“You love me”, Denmark said happily.

“I spent months beating you up and humiliating you in front of the king and all the realm, how is that love?”

“It is your kind of love”, Denmark said, holding Norway’s hand tightly but gently, “and I love you.”

“You make this awkward and strange”, Norway said, “but yes, I do love you.” Denmark hummed happily and leaned in for the kiss. 

“Hey, where is Island?” he asked after a moment when he realized the lack of the Icelandic nation.

“Oh, he is in the forest”, Norway said calmly, “the local troll family is watching after him for me. They have kids around his age.”

“Oh, okay… wait, you are letting him to live in forest with trolls?”

“Of course. Why not?”


	3. Anko family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.

“What did he promised to you?” Iceland asked dryly and glanced at the Norwegian sitting next to him on the coach. He was careful about not moving his head, but he still managed to deliver that bored look.

“What makes you think I expect bribes for coming to visit Danmark?” the Norwegian asked back. He also kept his body still, but looked far more relaxed than Iceland did. 

“You should. He pays well”, Iceland muttered and from the corner of his eye he saw Norway smirking lightly.

“He does indeed”, the man agreed.

“So you do take bribes from him?”

“Yes, that I never denied”, Norway said calmly, “but not the kind you think about.”

“What you mean…. no no no”, Iceland grimaced, “oh no, you are disgusting.” 

“I do not know for what you are referring to”, the Norwegian said, “but I do have enjoyed my time here and Danmark has been quite generous host, as always.”

“You are both disgusting”, the Icelander decided, “keep it low when I am here.”

“Of course.”

“And tell the Dane my prices have gone up. Next time he pays double”, Iceland continued, “and next time I will not be fooled like this.”

“Sitting still few hours is not that bad”, Norway noted, “at least it is not like last time when we sat down for hours every second day for whole month. This is quite fast and painless when comparing to that.”

“But he told me it is going to be a photograph”, Iceland muttered, “this is not a photograph, this is posing for a painting.”

“To be honest, photograph is included too”, Norway noted, “that is why we are not sitting down as long we did last time.”

“It is still long time.”

“Take it like a man, Is”, Norway said and chuckled, “or would you prefer to sit on my lap like you do in the previous painting?”

“I am not a kid, Nore”, Iceland muttered, “I just….”

“Complain because you are bored and think that is fun? Yes, I got that. Don’t worry, I am sure the Dane already have some more delightful plans for our visit so you don’t need to endure this pain every day.”

“Shut up”, Iceland said, “I just don’t wanna sit down this long.”

“It is worth it.”

“I guess.”

“Uh… I really thought it would be nice to have a new portrait”, said Denmark, who had been sitting the entire time on Iceland’s other side, “the one now hanging in the hall is from -95.”

“That is less than thirty years ago, I was sure...”

“1795”, Denmark corrected, whispering although the human in the room was too busy and blocking them off with having headphones on, “it was before… You know. I just thought new one would be nice.” He sounded sad, but bit too sad to be only upset about Iceland disagreeing with portrait. He hadn’t been disagreeing so much even, he still was there and kindly sat down when the artist worked. He frowned, wondering why the Dane sounded so sad.

“It was before you started to call him brother”, Norway said, either guessing or somehow sensing what his brother was thinking. Those few whispered words made Iceland realize why the Dane was upset now and had been so excited about the portrait before. The previous one, although good and well-made, had different feeling in it. Iceland had been a child back then, sitting on Norway’s lap while Denmark stood next to them. That painting was nice to look at but it wasn’t one of a family. Not fully at least. The warmth wasn’t there. 

“Sorry”, Iceland whispered and gently nudged the Dane’s shoulder, “it is actually a cool idea. To have new portrait, I mean.”

“Really?”

“Yeah”, Iceland nodded, “I was only joking to keep Nore entertained.” He could feel the Dane’s smile even when he didn’t look at the man.

“Good”, he said, once again sounding happy and leaning bit more on the Iceland for something that represented hug. Iceland was sure he would have a real hug once they were allowed to move again.

“Just pay me double, okay.”

“But I don’t pay you for being here”, Denmark said and frowned, “I only promised to feed you while you are staying with us and I do that every time you come over.” Iceland didn’t reply. He instead leaned toward his brother and rolled his eyes.

“The Dane is not the smartest around here”, he muttered.

“He can be quite dense now and then”, Norway agreed. They let the Dane to think over what Iceland had said, and just in few minutes he was smiling happily again.

“So you mean you want to stay longer!” he said, and leaned on Iceland for his compromised hug. Iceland leaned back and for a while they were pushing each other, each push being just little stronger so after while it looked more like a silly fight over the couch. 

“Only if you pay”, Iceland muttered and rolled his eyes, “yeah. I am on holiday anyway and there isn’t much to do at home.”

“Are you two trying to push each other off the couch. Should I get concerned?” Norway asked when the two nations didn’t stop they improvised hugging. 

“The Dane started it”, Iceland complained, but didn’t sound too upset about that. Denmark stopped pushing him and instead just gently leaned against his shoulder like he was supposed to to. On Iceland’s other side, Norway did the same.

“I think this will be a good portrait”, Denmark said.

“It probably will unless the artist gets angry with us moving and talking this much”, Norway whispered, “I believe there is a reason why she is wearing headphones, listening to music high enough volume for us to hear, and is giving us bad looks now and then.”

“Uh, you might be right”, Denmark said and they settled down again. At the end, the artist commissioned to do their portrait did not got angry, and after few months Denmark hanged the new painting in his home. He was happy with it and called Iceland and Norway back for the visit so they could see it too. They all agreed that it looked good, although Iceland made few comments about how he was smiling too much and the Scandinavians were giving each other disgusting look, but he also agreed that it was nice painting. Especially when it was placed next to the older one. The comparison between centuries old master piece and the new one with modern touch was great and shocking in its’ own way. In the older one they were all wearing ceremonial, fine clothes and having stern expressions on their face like they didn’t even know each other. The new one showed them laughing on couch, leaning on each other and having all the small gestures hidden in to give relaxed and warm feeling for one looking at the painting. Clearly the artist had been observing their small discussions to get a better idea of how to perfectly capture the true feelings between them. 

Denmark looked at the portraits hanging next to other, and quietly asked if they should take the older one down.

“No, I think it should stay there”, Norway said, giving the both painting an observing look, “it makes the newer one more real. Expressing how far we have gone. I think they should stay like that so we remember.”

“I agree”, Iceland nodded, “I still think all the portraits are weird, but it does give nice feeling to see them like this. To realize the difference. We are happier now, I think.” Denmark didn’t say anything for that, but he hugged the two nations tightly and the portraits stayed on wall, reminding them about the past and future. 


	4. Fantasy AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.
> 
> This is a fantasy AU and so takes a place in alternative universe where they are not nations... but something else.
> 
> Names used!
> 
> Norway = Sigurd  
> Denmark = Dag

“Come and listen, come and listen!” the old storyteller called in the villagers and visiting traders with his loud and clear voice. They gathered closer, eager to end the day of fun with a promised story. The old man was famous of his way to tell stories, and he had been popular among children during the whole marker day. They had heard him telling fairy tales, unbelievable stories from lands far away and some jokingly told advice on what they should do and how to follow their parents’ guidance. The children had been amazed, begging him to tell more and more until the storyteller had to decline and tell them he had to save his voice or either it would disappear forever.

But as the sun had already set and the children had been sent to sleep of the excitement of the day, it was adults’ turn to hear a story. They had been waiting for that and even if it was the last event of the day, starting when the night had already fell and it was too late to take a road, there were a great audience sitting down on the grass around the storyteller. It wasn’t the first time he was sharing his words and bringing imagination to life, and many had come to the market just to hear him. 

The old storyteller was quiet, waiting until the last voice had faded off and only the gentle wind brought sounds of the night to them, calming and lulling into comfort. Then he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

“Once upon time”, he said with the strong voice that easily carried over the small market place, “not too long time ago, in the village not too far from here, a young man fell in love with a creature of the forest.” He paused there, giving anybody wanting to leave the possibility do so without interrupting the story telling. Some people looked like they already knew the story, but none hurried to leave. The storyteller continued.

“He was a fair young man, in his best years and with the strength of youth. A gentleman, said the elderly of his village. A beloved son, said his parents. A friend to trust, said other young men that so often spent their time with him. And a heartbreaker, said the young fair maids, as he was nice to look at and pleasant to speak with, but he still offered no maid the highest honour. So many cried after he was lost and so many still cries this day when they remember what the foul creature of the forest once took from them but alas! We should not hurry the story to the end as the night is young and good company hard to leave. Let me tell you what really happened that summer when our fair young man had the misfortune to wander too deep into the forest…

It was a fine day, as unfortunate things often happens during otherwise fine days, when the young man left his home and walked down to the stream to fetch water. When he arrived, saw he a dead deer laying in the stream. Knowing that drinking water that had run over dead would only make him sick, he continued walking up the stream to find fresher water. The farther he wandered the farther he went from the safety of the village until he ended up in place where dark creature held his threshold.

This creature was one from the evil and only evil could he be. But do not get fooled! For he was clever too, and the moment he saw our fair young man, he knew he wanted him…”

The audience listened quietly, only gasping when the creature of the forest was told to have red eyes, horns and only bad thoughts, holding their breaths when the story teller explained how the young man was slowly seduced so for months he returned to the creature again and again, forced to do so by the fool spell that made him fall in love and slowly give his soul and heart to this evil being. Some even had tears in their eyes when at the end the young man became emotionless slave to the forest and his beloved family could only cry after him. The story didn’t have good end, but the last words of warning and how the young man’s village was never again haunted by evil after that, gave people some hope. 

The story ended with a heavy sight from the storyteller. He hold out his hat, allowing the audience to give him a coin or two and many did drop a payment in the hat before leaving. As they left, some of them talked softly about the story with others and some glanced around like they expected to see strange creatures appearing from the dark forest. They made sure to hold light with them and hurry their steps in fear of being caught like the young man of the story. Nobody really noticed how one pair, wearing heavy cloaks and sturdy boots made to wander in forest, took a different direction and disappeared into the shadows. They were not known in that village, but with market days always bringing lot of travelers they didn’t stood out. 

“You heard that, Sigurd”, the one said after they had wandered far enough, “they still tells our story and it was  _ you  _ who seduced  _ me!”  _ His companion lowered the hood that had shielded his head, revealing slightly pointed ears and eyes so blue they mesmerized people who glanced at him. He looked annoyed and snorted.

“Yes, I heard that, Dag”, he said, “but we both know the truth and it was  _ you  _ who couldn’t let  _ me  _ alone until I…”

“Fell in love with me?”

“Unfortunately”, Sigurd sighed. He looked away and sounded annoyed, but from under his cloak a tail emerged and swayed few times before gently wrapping itself around Dag’s wrist. The man smiled and petted the tail. 

“You have only yourself to blame”, he said with a laugh in his voice, “why did you seduce me with your foul spells and dark magic?” They kept walking through the forest and away from the village, but seemed to have no fear toward anything possibly lurking there. 

“I recall only asking what the hell you were doing in my home after you crashed through the roof”, Sigurd said, “is that was a spell enough to seduce you, then I am not sure what is wrong with you.”

“It was your eyes, love of mine”, Dag said, “and are you still upset about the roof? It has been years and I did fix it!”

“You tried to fix it”, Sigurd correct him, “and then you kept coming to bother me every single day until…”

“Yes, continue please”, Dag said when Sigurd fell quiet, “until what?”

“You know what happened.”

“Yeah, but maybe I want to hear it”, Dag said with a smile, “because you know, the previous version of our story that we just heard clearly said that I was captured by the spell that made me love you and at the end you ate my soul and heart, leaving hundreds of maids to mourn for me.”

“Do you feel like I ate your soul and heart?”

“No, but maybe you did it very gently so I didn’t notice.”

“Oh, you are impossible”, Sigurd sighed, but there was an amused tone in his voice, “fine, since your poor head is confused. Once upon time there was a fool young man who ran to the forest to avoid being called in his duty to herd the neighbor’s sheep. While he went around the forest, being lazy and selfish, he just happened to get far enough to stumble upon a humble forest spirit’s home. Without knowing that the hill was a home, he jumped up it and crashed straight down on that poor spirit. There he laid, confused and sad until the spirit told him to get hell out of the house. Did he that? Of course not. Instead he said he was going to help with fixing the roof, which he really didn’t need to do and neither did he know how to do it. After that he insisted being the spirit’s friend and did not listen any complains. So he returned every day until the spirit was lured to like him and after some time they kissed under the moonlight. Since then the poor spirit had been tasked to take care of that fool of young man.”

“Hmm… Not exactly how I remember that”, Dag said with a laugh and gently tugged Sigurd’s tail, “thought, your version sounds a bit more familiar than the one we heard at the town. That I have to say.”

“Aha. So you do admit you are not the fair, brave young man?”

“Oh, Sig, I meant how they described you!”, Dag said and reached his hand on forest spirit’s back, “they always say that your back is hollow but this doesn’t feel that hollow for me.” He tapped few times, his hand clearly meeting flesh under the clothes. Sigurd rolled his eyes.

“They always get their tales mixed up”, he said, “either I am a troll or näcken or huldrekarl or something they made up there and then, but never can they just call me a simple forest spirit.”

“Well, you do have a tail and sometimes you sit by the stream playing a fiddle. I would be mesmerized by that! Actually, I guess I am every time you do that.”

“Yes, but I do not eat people.”

“What? They clearly said you ate my heart and soul!” Dag said and Sigurd snorted.

“You are never going to let me live that one down, do you?”

“No, sorry”, Dag grinned and moved his hand up to Sigurd’s head, “you got no horns and your eyes are blue, not blood red like hell’s fire.”

“I am so lucky.”

“Why would I even get attracted to somebody with horns and scary eyes?” Dag asked and frowned slightly, “I mean I guess if they had great personality, but by the first sight… Can any spell really be that strong?”

“Let me guess”, Sigurd said, “if I had horns, hollow back, voice that sounded like ten babies crying in pain, smell of body being dead for a week, eyes red as the fire in hell, pure evil in the soul and a habit to eat mouth open… Oh, and let’s not forget the diet of human hearts and souls, would you still try to make friends with me?”

“Oh, well”, Dag said with a deep thought, “that sounds like somebody who could use a friend or two.”

“As a snack.”

“You don’t eat friends”, Dag complained, “anyway, you know that I think you are really attractive like this!”

“We have been together over three decades, I kind of assumed you find me somehow attractive. It was very hard to try to get rid of you, after all”, Sigurd replied.

“I like your tail”, Dag said playing with the said tail while they walked.

“Thank you. I grew it myself”, Sigurd said and after brief silence added, “I like it when you brush it.” Dag’s smile got wider for that and he kissed the tail’s tip. He didn’t care about Sigurd muttering he should do that because usually the tail trailed on ground behind him and probably was very dirty.

“I like your eyes too”, he said, “and you doesn’t sound like ten babies crying in pain. Actually you have really sweet voice. And your eyes are very pretty. The unnatural shine just adds the beauty in them.”

“Are you complimenting me because you think I feel sad about how they describe me in those stupid stories and make me look like a monster so everybody fears and hates me?”

“Um… Yes?”

“Well, thank you”, Sigurd replied with bit softer voice and sighed, “you silly man. I love you.”

“So that’s why you seduced me?”

“For the last time, I did not seduce you”, Sigurd said and rolled his eyes, “and your heart is mine only because you gave it to me and I gave mine to you. It was a fair trade. And because I know your next question, no I do not know how it tasted like because I did not eat it. You don’t eat your greatest treasure.” Dag smiled, the look in his eyes soft and loving when he looked at the forest spirit next to him. The forest was dark, but Sigurd had his ways to illuminate their way so they were not in complete darkness.

“Do you want to hear a story?” Dag asked after a brief, calming silence. They still had quite walk to go before they would be home, so Sigurd nodded.

“Why not”, he said, “is it a happy one? I think I have got enough of evil monsters seducing fair young men.”

“It is!” Dag promised, “so once upon time there was a young man, who might have been bit of fool but he meant well, and he was having a day off from his work at neighbor’s farm. Day off.”

“Which you decided yourself?”

“Come on, Sig, let me tell the story!”

“I am letting you to tell it”, the spirit promised.

“So to celebrate his day off he decided to go to swim in the stream, but he didn’t want to swim where other people could fetch water, so he walked along the stream to find a good spot. The day was fine and warm and the forest so beautiful that he kept going for a long time just because he enjoyed the moment there.”

“And got lost”, Sigurd said and grabbed the man’s arm to warn him about the roots going over their path. Dag might have been living in the forest for a long time, but he didn’t have same senses the forest spirit had. 

“Well, yes”, Dag said and smiled for thank you, “but he wasn’t too lost! He wandered deeper into the forest, following the wind’s whisper and looking for anything beautiful to take home to remind him about that beautiful day. Until he climbed up a small hill, that he later learnt was a roof of a beautiful forest spirit’s home, and he crashed down! There he luckily landed on something soft.”

“On me.”

“And he heard unbelievable sweet voice saying…”

“Get the hell out of my house.”

“So he looked up from the floor where he had rolled on and saw the most beautiful, amazing, magical being he had ever seen. The blue eyes shining in the dim light, blond hair silky and so soft and the tail to match switching behind him with quick movements.”

“That actually means I am angry. I only do that when I am angry.”

“And like under a spell, the young man lost his ability to speak and could only stare at the being he had found.”

“Fell on through the roof.”

“And he finally managed to mutter few words out of his mouth…”

“What you mean, you live here?”

“Sig, that was my part!”

“Fine. I will let you tell the story.”

“Thanks. So after meeting such interesting person he didn’t want to go without knowing who he was. So he offered his help with the roof, and after days passed with the reparations they became friends. The beautiful spirit didn’t want to follow the young man to the village, as he enjoyed his solitude, but the young man was free to visit him whenever he wanted. He visited every day, sometimes spending hours together, sometimes only few minutes if there wasn’t much time. But he did come every day for his friend. Until…”

“You did not come.”

“Yeah, until one day the young man fell ill”, Dag said with sad tone and stopped walking, making the forest spirit stop as well, “he was very ill. Spending days with fever making the reality and imagination mixing up his head and every hour to be a nightmare. The villagers believed he had been cursed. They hadn’t missed how he sneaked away into forest every day and came back just a bit different. Bit happier. Maybe bit shining. Bit more like a creature of the forest. They said it was a curse and they wanted to help.”

“So they took their fire and weapons and went into the forest”, Sigurd said quietly, observing the thoughtful look on Dag’s face.

“But didn’t found anything”, Dag continued and reached to softly caress the forest spirit’s arm, “because the spirit was smart and knew something was wrong. So he had already ran and while villagers were out looking for him, he sneaked into sick man’s room.” Dag’s hand reached higher, touching Sigurd’s cheek and the spirit leaned on that touch.

“And with a sweetest voice the young man had ever heard, he whispered…”

“I don’t like to see you like this”, Sigurd whispered softly, repeating what he had said many years ago when he found Dag in pain. The time has passed and all was well, but he still remembered the fear and panic he had felt back then. 

“And so he did his magic and the young men felt better again”, Dag continued, “the villagers called it a miracle, but the young man knew better for he had felt his dear friend near him. So when he felt well enough he went out to the forest, ignoring the villagers’ warnings, and tried to find the gentle spirit. It took him days and nights, but he didn’t give up. At the end he didn’t even went home, he just endlessly wandered the forest until he finally found the spirit, standing on the flower field with only light of moon and the shine of his eyes there. The young man rejoiced because he had been missing his friend. Been missing more than he had ever missed anything. So he ran to the spirit, seeking to feel him close and speak to him, but the spirit moved away just when the young man’s fingers almost touched him.” 

“I can’t be with you”, whispered Sigurd with a sad tone, living again that moment on the field, and wrapping his arms tightly around the man like making sure he wouldn’t leave, “for I belong to forest and you are a human. I care of you too much already now and I don’t want to see you go.” Dag hummed, pushing their foreheads together and breathing in the fresh smell of forest.

“But I want to be with you”, he whispered softly, “and I want to be with you always. So you are not alone.”

“I can lengthen your life, make your days to match mine”, the spirit said, “share my powers with you and make you mine as you make me yours, but then you will not be a human. You will not be able to live with those people for they will notice me in you and they will see you staying young when everybody else ages and leaves the earth within their time. They will hate you and fear you.”

“I have never wanted anybody else as much I want you”, Dag said and closed his eyes, “I love you.”

“If you are sure…”

“So they kissed under the moon light and agreed to wait for five years. If the young man hadn’t change his mind in five years and if they still wanted to stay together, the spirit would claim him from the humans’ realm. Five years passed, the young man living with his fellow humans and spending all his free time with the beautiful spirit of the forest. Five years passed and their love only grew stronger, so in one night the young man sneaked out the village, said goodbye to his old life, and with a smile joined his lover in the forest. He never returned, but it was his decision and he was happy.”

“And so it has been since then”, Sigurd said, feeling the man’s heart beating in the same rhythm with him and the magic singing softly as it always did around him. He felt whole when they were together like this, and with only slight turn of head their lips met. Dag hummed happily, eager to deeper the kiss while Sigurd was more careful because his sharper teeth had accidentally cut the man before. It didn’t stop him tugging the man closer, demanding his warmth against him.

“I love you”, Dag whispered, his breath coming out heavy and the healthy red on his cheek.

“My heart”, Sigurd whispered back. They stood there a moment longer, arms around each other, but then they remembered that the home was waiting so they continued their way. Dag was holding Sigurd’s hand and the spirit’s tail was swaying behind, occasionally brushing against the man’s leg in way Dag knew did not mean the spirit was angry. It was quite opposite. 

And the people kept telling their stories while the young man and the forest spirit spent their days together, sometimes laughing, sometimes arguing but always in love. The years went by, the stories turning into legends and changing with each storyteller that ever shared them to other people. One day the story of young fair man and the forest spirit maybe started to sound more like what really happened, becoming a story about man and spirit that truly loved each other and decided to share their hearts instead of one with monsters and foul spells, but Dag and Sigurd rarely wandered into human towns to hear those stories. They were living their own fairytale. 


	5. Snow day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.

“Nor”, Denmark whispered and gently poked the Norwegian’s shoulder to get him wake up, “Nor, get up.”

“What?” Norway muttered, looking more pissed off than worried because the Dane didn’t sound like something was wrong. There had been times when Norway had been dragged up from the bed because of the call to arms or dangers coming, so Denmark whispering and not straight forward kicking the Norwegian out of the bed wasn’t that worrying. He glanced at the clock on the table, the illuminating numbers telling him that it was way too early to be out from the bed.

“There is snow outside.”

“I am aware”, Norway said and sighed, “it has been there already quite long time. It is winter, so that is expected in these latitudes.”

“Yeah, but the temperature went up”, Denmark said and kept urging the Norwegian to get up, “it is now perfect for making a snowman!”

“You are waking me up this early because you want to make a snowman?” Norway asked, not sharing the Dane’s excitement and hurry, “go then and let me sleep. This is not a Disney film.” He turned around, ready to get back to dreaming, but Denmark kept bothering him.

“No, listen, I have an idea.”

“Make it quick or I kick you out myself”, Norway muttered, silently cursing his inability to just ignore the Dane. The years had made him soft, he thought and looked up to hear what exactly was making Denmark so excited and trying to get him out of the bed way too early.

“So, we make a snowman”, Denmark explained and hold his hands like he was picturing the said snowman, “and then you spell it to move around… and now comes the best part… we make it follow Sverige!”

“That would annoy him a lot”, Norway noted, “that would be fun.”

“Yeah I know”, Denmark nodded, “sounds good right?”

“I like the idea”, Norway admitted, but still didn’t got up from the bed, “how about giving the snowman a stick and making it hit Sverige every time he get too close to it?”

“Oh, damn, I knew you would make my plan even better”, Denmark grinned, “so you up for it?” 

“Damn why not”, Norway said and started to push the blanket off him, “I am already awake so I might as well play tricks on our dear Swedish brother.”

“I knew you will like it”, Denmark said, sounding excited again and almost bouncing slightly. He already had his clothes on and some melting snow in his hair. Norway wondered how the man had managed to sneak out without being noticed and how long time ago he had got his idea. 

“I will still want you to pay me the early waking up”, Norway said, “but hurry up now so we get the snowman done before Sverige awakes. It will be even better if we get it smuggled in to his house so it will be the first thing he sees.”

“Oh, amazing idea! I think we have some food colouring laying around so we can paint it to look scary”, Denmark nodded, “kisses and cuddles for payment?”

“I get those free whenever I want”, Norway said while getting clothes on, because going out to winter weather without clothes was not a good idea, “not sure if we can make it scarier than the Swede himself is, but it is worth to give it a try.”

“Uh, how about breakfast in the bed then?”

“I am already out the bed, Dane.”

“Lunch in bed?”

“Make it a lunch date in restaurant and I might agree”, Norway said and rolled his eyes at the smiling Dane, “come on, the snowman is not gonna built itself.”

“Yeah, I am coming”, Denmark said and followed the Norwegian, “cool, we gonna have a date today!”

“After we have tortured Sverige.”

“Even better!”


	6. Mermaid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.

The Dane is speaking. He had been speaking already for a while, but I don’t have anything to say so I let him go on. After all, he is pleasant to listen to, and sometime the quiet house bothers me. 

He keeps talking, not needing any help from me to have that conversation going. Sometime I wonder if it annoys him to not get much reply, but he never mentions that and still comes to me to talk. Seems like it isn’t that big deal for him then. I still do take a part in the conversations with nods and small comments whenever I have something to say, but often I just listen. The Dane is pleasant to listen to, after all.

His voice is always so... living. Every single emotion he has could be presented in his voice and he isn’t shy to use it. I could figure out exactly how he was feeling only by listening the tone and words he use. How he ends the sentences with a laugh when he is telling about something he thought was funny. How the tone gets lower and slower when he thinks something while speaking. How he uses shorter words with a quick pace when he is angry. I thought for a long time that I had heard every single way of his speech, but he keeps surprising me. Once I noticed the warmth and softness in his voice, the gentle use of words and almost whispering tune that made his speech so beautiful, and since then it has been my favorite. The way how he speaks about things he really loves. He often speaks to me like that. I love him.

He smiles often. I love it, but sometimes it annoys me too. Sometimes I feel like he thinks a simple smile cures everything. Maybe he is right, it does make me feel better when I see him smile, but it is so naive too. I am not going to stop him from smiling. He should do that so much he wants and can. I do love him, after all.

And the eyes, oh they shine. How can they shine? I have never figured that out. It can’t be a spell, the Dane doesn’t have even hint of magic in him, but it can’t be natural either. So strongly it mesmerizes me… Makes me want to just look at his eyes all the day. He wouldn’t mind if I did that, I believe. 

And his lips…

“Norge?” 

“What?” I ask, trying to think if he had said anything special while I zoned out. Nothing comes in my mind.

“Are you still listening me?” he asks and I nod, “okay, cool, it just looked like you are thinking something. You just stared at me with this really soft and adorable look.” Adorable? that is the word he decided to describe me with? I don’t think many would have chose that one.

“I was thinking about this morning's meeting”, I say, telling the little white lie so easily just to avoid being embarrassed, “I think I will have to take a look on those statistics they used. Something feels quite strange about them.” Denmark nods, his beautiful smile still there.

“Ah, so you weren’t thinking of me?” he says. The light tone and laugh under his voice tells me that he is joking, but the look in his eyes says he knows I hadn’t been thinking about meetings. I guess our communication goes both ways and as I understand him, he understands me. Luckily, he usually doesn’t call me out for my lies unless he feels like it is in his rights to do so. 

“No”, I say, keeping the lie he already saw through, “why would I do so?”

“I dunno, maybe you love me just so much you think it is fun to stare at me”, the Dane says and shrugs. I know he knows. I am not going to give in. There isn’t really reason to admit anything when the other already knows and I rather save myself from that embarrassment. Maybe later, in other situation, I will let him know. Just not now.

“What did you say?” I ask, moving the topic in hopes he will start to talk again and forget I was zoning out for a moment.

“Oh right”, the Dane says, “I was asking if you want to go to hunt mermaids with me?” Ah, so he had been expecting me to take a part in the conversation. No wonder he knew I had been thinking about something else.

“Mermaids?” I ask, “hunt them?”

“Yeah!” Denmark says with a smile, “I mean, not like killing hunting. More like trying to find them so we can say hi kind of hunting.”

“You know mermaids doesn’t exist?” I ask. The Dane only shrugs like that small fact didn’t matter much.

“We shouldn’t exist, but here we are”, he says. Such a hopeful thought. He has always been the one to think positively, but I still believe there are no mermaids. We have been sailing most of our life, we should have already met some if they were real. 

“So do you wanna come with me?” the Dane continues, sounding happy but also having a small hint of insureness in his voice. He probably really wishes for me to agree, but is scared that I will disappoint him and decide to stay home.

“I guess somebody has to be there to look after you”, I say and the Dane looks happy. He takes my hand, just holding it and nothing more. He often does things like that. Casually touching me, holding my hand, resting his hand on my shoulder, kissing my cheek… 

It used to bother me. Not the touch itself, that I had always welcomed somehow, but the way how he seems to do it without second thought. Just reach for me, touch, and continue the life like sharing those small moments was normal everyday thing. For him, it probably was, and I have to admit it became everyday habit after a while. I can’t even recall anymore the day I did not reserve these small signs of affection constantly when Denmark was in the same place with me. It became such a normal thing I realized I started to feel anxious when I didn’t get my touch and kisses. Then it didn’t bother me anymore. Now I am too busy to enjoy it to feel troubled of how the Dane knows when it is the right moment.

I try to do the same and show him I love him too, but I have never been that good with such casual shows of affection. I keep thinking if it is the right moment, if he is in mood for it, if he wants me to do it and…

“You are off again”, Denmark says and I quickly look up. I know I am frowning, but the Dane doesn’t seem to care about that. Actually, he looks somewhat amused, almost like pleased. He probably knows more than I think he knows. The damn Dane being clever and observant. I love him too much. 

“The meeting and statistic”, I offer again for an excuse, “so… Mermaids.”

“Yeah!” he says with a loud voice and nods, “I have a boat and I know we both will have a holiday next week so what you think? Me, you, the boat and the sea!”

“And mermaids, I assume.”

“Those too, but I am sure we will have some private time too”, he says and winks. I do not wink back. I stare at him and try hard to not think the most… interesting possibilities. It had been a while since we were just two of us. Sailing again did sound wonderful. A whole week even, just me and him. The sea and endless starry sky over us during nights. The perfect solitude and comfort of the sea. Kissing him and tasting the salt.

“When are we going?”

“Next Monday?” Denmark suggest, “and be back on Sunday if we do not manage to drop all our electronic devices into the sea and therefore lost the track of time.”

“That would be harmful to the sea.”

“Well, how about accidentally locking all the electronic devices into a locked box that we just magically happen to be able to open only when we are back on the land?”

“That sounds better”, I nod, “mermaids will probably appreciate our gesture of not bringing human technology to them.”

“So mermaids are real?” he asks, looking even more excited. I can’t say no to that face.

“Well, the ocean is deep”, I reply, “who knows what is under there. As you said, we shouldn’t exist either.” He smiles and wraps his arms around me for hug. More of the affectionate gestures of his. I lean in, thanking my luck that my lover knows how to express and share his feelings way better than I do. It would be terrible to miss this comfort and the feeling of being loved.

“It is a deal then”, he says.

“It is a deal”, I agree, “me and you, hunting mermaids.”

“But only to say hi, not hurting them.”

“Of course”, I say and look at him. He is so close now and I believe he has no hurry to leave me. He is happy, smiling and making me happy too. Isn’t this a perfect moment for a kiss? I think it is. I will give him one. Maybe more... If he wants. 


	7. School AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the collection of short fics I wrote for Dennor week, originally published in my tumblr account. Prompts are as well from the dennor week hosted in tumblr at dennorweek.tumblr.com.
> 
> Names used!
> 
> Norway = Lukas  
> Denmark = Matias

“Matias?”

“Yeah? How can I help you in this fine day?” the Danish guy called Matias asked and smiled at the Norwegian who had called his attention. Lukas hadn’t been in their school for long time. He had started there only few months ago after his family moved from Norway, his native land, to Denmark. Matias, as he was the leader of student council and also the most active tutor student in the whole school, hand eagerly took the role of showing the ropes for their new classmate. It of course didn’t matter at all that Lukas had only few courses with Matias, he helped anyway. Or tried. Often Lukas didn’t want help and seemed to be more than capable to survive the school life just by himself. Matias still insisted at least to sit down for lunch with him whenever they happened to be at the cafeteria around same time, and ignored his brother’s comments about possible boyfriends and silly crushes.

“Explain this”, Lukas said, holding out his smartphone. Matias took a look, easily recognizing the app for the system their school used and that he was looking at Lukas’ exam results. It didn’t take a lot to realize that as Matias himself had checked his own results just a while ago.

“It is your exam results”, he explained, “congrats, you are doing very well!” He smiled, hoping that the Norwegian would smile too, but Lukas didn’t seem to be in mood for that. Well, next time then, he thought. Lukas actually coming to him to ask help was already a big step and Matias was sure they were going to be friends. Or maybe more. He hoped for more. Matias was known to be very optimistic and hopeful person.

“I know”, Lukas said shortly and looked annoyed, “I meant, could you explain me how this grading works?”

“I thought you understood Danish?” Matias noted, “uh, I guess you can switch the app into English if you…”

“I do understand Danish. I am right here understanding everything you say”, Lukas cut him off, “I need you to explain me the grades. I have 10, is that good?”

“Yeah, that is pretty good”, Matias nodded, still confused.

“What is the highest possible grade?”

“12”

“What is the lowest?”

“-2”, but you only pass with 2 or higher.” For some reason Lukas sighed deeply after he heard that.

“Fine, could you please tell me how that works?” he asked, sounding frustrated, and Matias nodded. At that point of his life of having a massive crush on Lukas, he would do absolutely anything the Norwegian ever asked for him.

“Yeah so, you pass with 2, 4, 7, 10 and 12”, he started to explain, “and if you have - 2 or 0 you didn’t pass and you will have to take the exam again.”

“And why in earth there are two grades for not passing?”

“Well, 0 is for if you didn’t get enough points.”

“And -2 is for?”

“I don’t know actually”, Matias said with full honesty, “I guess you will have to show up drunk for the exam and threaten to kill the teacher or something.”

“I see”, Lukas muttered, “does that happen often if there really is need for ‘not passing’ and ‘strongly not passing’?”

“Probably”, Matias shrugged, “I have never seen that happen, but I guess people don’t really go around bragging about their -2’s so who knows.”

“I guess. Denmark just never stop amusing me”, Lukas muttered quietly and looked at his grades again, “why 12?”

“It is an even number.”

“But seven is not and it is still here.”

“I guess that is because it is called 7 grade system”, Matias helpfully noted, “so there has to be seven.”

“Why none of these numbers are divisible by seven then?” Lukas asked.

“Uh”, Matias tried to think hard, “it is funnier like this?”

“It is more annoying, at least”, Lukas muttered, “where are the rest of numbers?”

“It is seven point grading system so we only need seven numbers?”

“Why that sounded like a question?”

“Because it was?” Lukas gave him a long look and Matias decided it might have better to not ask more questions. Sometimes he felt like all he did only annoyed the Norwegian, and he was very hard trying to not annoy him. It had caused quite a conflict in him because he also wanted to be with Lukas and impress him, but so far it seemed like there was no hope for him. Berwald was probably right, Lukas was out of his league.

“Right”, Lukas muttered, “let me get this straight.”

“But I am not straight”, Matias said, too slow to stop himself. It didn’t help at all that he blushed and started to panic when he realized what he had said. It was Berwald’s fault that the running joke between them had got out of hands like this.

“I was aware of that”, Lukas said and Matias got a slight piece of hope when he heard that the Norwegian didn’t seem to care about his rather sudden declaration, “everybody in this school knows you are gay. So I was saying, the numbers I should be satisfied with are 7, 10 and 12.”

“You pass the exam also with 2 and 4”, Matias noted.

“I said satisfied, not barely accepting”, Lukas said, “and -2 and 0 means the exam has to be taken again in order to pass the course?”

“Yeah, unless you talk with the teacher and get permission to show your skills in some other way”, Matias said with a shrug, “I know few guys that have made presentations instead. Something about having problems to focus in exam situation.”

“Good to know”, Lukas nodded and Matias smiled. It seemed like he had helped and Lukas was looking clearly less puzzled. It was amazing how such a simple thing as explaining the grading system to Lukas made Matias feel so good. If only he could dare to ask that one question he had been wondering about already for a while. He had been thinking that if he made good enough friends with Lukas now over the year, he could maybe ask him out for a date next year. Or he would just continue being friends. Honestly, the idea of first becoming friends with Lukas and then destroying it all by just asking stupid questions scared him a lot. Maybe it was better to aim to be just friends?

“So… You got different system in Norway?” Matias asked, thinking that had to be good enough question to keep the conversation going. He didn’t want Lukas to go.

“Yes, one that makes clearly more sense.”

“Ah, okay. Of course, Norway is great.”

“Have you ever been in Norway?”  
“Not yet, but I love Norway.”

“I see”, Lukas said, looking slightly confused but clearly not wasting too much time for that. Matias hurried to ask more, because once they stopped talking Lukas would go home. Just few minutes more would satisfied Matias.

“Which kind of system you guys have there then?”

“We use numbers in logical order, don’t drop into minus side, and there isn’t numbers missing between”, Lukas explained quickly, “just a normal scale from 0 to 9.”

“Uh, sounds bit boring.”

“I guess, you could say that”, Lukas said with a small shrug, “maybe spending hours to figure out how exactly the grading system works adds some charm. Well, anyway, I actually had another question for you.”

“Okay, shoot away then”, Matias said and smiled. It was already a good day, but to be able to help Lukas twice? It had to be the best day of his life since Lukas had showed up at the school and made Matias to run to the dean’s office to offer himself to help out the new student. Love at the first sight? Yes, Matias believed in that. Who could blame him though, the Norwegian wasn’t only good looking but he was also charming and kind and sweet and humourous and… Matias could have kept the list going for hours.

“Would you like to go out with me?”

Well, that question he hadn’t been expecting.

“Huh?” That was all Matias managed to say. He started to panic, frantically trying to think if he had understood correctly or if Lukas just meant hanging out as friends. He knew Lukas had been taking Danish lessons just to make sure he understood everything, but he still did mostly talk in Norwegian so maybe “going out” just meant hanging out with friends in Norway. How to date in Danish probably wasn’t the usual topic of Danish lessons, Matias thought.

“Hm. I was sure you were interested”, Lukas muttered, looking suddenly slightly embarrassed but also confused, “Tino said…”

“I am interested!” Matias yelled bit too loud, making few other students in the lobby to glance up at them.

“Well, okay, cool”, Lukas muttered and for the first time ever Matias saw the usually collected and calm Norwegian to turn into nervous mess. It lasted just few seconds, “on Saturday?”

“Yeah, Saturday. Perfect”, Matias said quickly, assuming that if they got the date agreed fast it would be true and Lukas wouldn’t realize how much better match he would get with somebody else. Matias knew he had exactly one chance and he wasn’t going to miss it. Although, he almost did already by panicking.

“Around 13:30?” Lukas asked, “uh, you would like to have coffee at mall or something?”

“Yeah that sounds great”, Matias nodded, smiling now more than he had ever, which was quite an achievement because he smiled a lot and all the time even normally. The day had become even better and he couldn’t believe he wasn’t sleeping or being tricked or something. But it had to be true. Lukas would never be cruel like that and just ask him out for a joke and he had already pinched himself three times to make sure he was awake.

“Good”, Lukas nodded, awkwardly pushing his phone back in to his pocket and playing with the key chan he had hanging on his bag, “great, actually, well alright. So we will see at mall then?”

“Yeah, we will see there”, Matias nodded.

“Good”, Lukas said again. It seemed like he too had lost over half of his vocabulary all of sudden and his brother would have laughed at him if he saw that, “I should go so… See you.”

“Yeah, see you.”

“Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

“Don’t forget the Saturday”, Lukas said and after last awkward, shared look with the Dane, he started to make his way home. Matias stood still a while longer, doing his best to not simply explode. He had way too many feelings and thoughts inside him right then so he just smiled and kept bouncing slightly when he walked. A date with Lukas, a date with Lukas, a date with Lukas, he thought all way to home and he knew that the best time of his life was just going to start. 


End file.
